


Sleep

by clearascountryair



Series: Tumblr Drabbles [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Female Friendship, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Male-Female Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-19
Updated: 2016-09-19
Packaged: 2018-08-16 02:37:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8083369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clearascountryair/pseuds/clearascountryair
Summary: Sometimes, when the world needs to heal, you just need to close your eyes and fall back asleep.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks agentcalliope for beta-ing!

With the exhaustion of the past day (or week or month or year or their whole lives), neither Fitz nor Jemma woke when the front door opened.  They laid together in bed, Jemma in fetal position, curled in towards the center, and Fitz sprawled out on his stomach, mouth slightly open, with the fingers of his right hand just millimeters from where her hands were balled up between her chin and chest.  When she fidgeted in her sleep, his hand, as if by instinct, bridged the gap between them and both fell deeper and deeper into their blissfully sound sleep with that small point of contact between them.  Though they were always drowning, it was now in silence and moonlight and each other, and they felt, for once, serene.

What Jemma dreamt of, she could not say when she woke, yet she knew the whole time that Fitz’s hand was in hers.  And then a voice began to whisper her name, kindly at first and then almost desperately so.

_JemmaJemmaJemmaJemma_

“Simmons, _please_!”

The warmth of Fitz’s fingers along her own, and the familiar hand at her shoulder kept her from shouting out.  She rolled to her left, somehow knowing not to be afraid and let her gaze travel from the hand on her shoulder up its attached arm to May’s face, just discernible in the moonlight, and back down May’s other arm to where her hand wrapped around another, dark hair obscuring her face.

“I can’t take her back to base.”

Immediately, Jemma was wide awake.  She quickly took her hands from Fitz and gestured for the others to wait for her in the hall.  In his sleep, Fitz mumbled her name and she kissed his cheek.  In silence, she went to her dresser and pulled out a pair of pajamas.

In the hallway, May stood holding Daisy’s hand as tightly as she could.  Whether it was to remind that Daisy was actually, physically there, or to prevent her from disappearing again, neither could say.  Shutting the bedroom door quietly behind her, Jemma motioned for them to follow her to the guest room.  

“There are towels in the closet,” she said when they entered the room.  “Shampoo, soap, it’s all in the shower.”  She handed Daisy the pajamas.  “I’ll wait here.”

Daisy nodded and went into the bathroom.  Jemma turned to May.  The faced each other in silence until they heard they shower turn on.

“How did you find her?”

“She found me.  I couldn’t take her back to base, Jemma.”

She nodded.  “She can stay here, as long as she needs to.  We’ve got good security, the safe room, if we need it.  She’ll be safe.”  She sat down on the edge of the bed.  “She’ll stay?”

May nodded.  “I think so.  She wants to be here.  She needs you.”

“We need her.”

The shower turned off and, a couple minutes later, the bathroom door opened.  Daisy stood in the doorway, hugging herself in Jemma’s pajamas.  May turned to her and placed a tender hand on her arm.

“I have to go back to base, but you’ll be safe here.”

Daisy nodded.  “Thank you,” she said, and her voice was so hoarse, Jemma wondered if she had spoken at all since that far off evening when she had said, “You’re going to sleep early.  In not your room,” and Jemma had blushed and laughed and hadn’t found Daisy in the morning.

May nodded and left, squeezing Jemma’s shoulder on her way out.

Neither Jemma nor Daisy said a word until they heard the door almost silently click shut behind May.  Then, still looking at her feet, Daisy spoke.

“Guess this is better than having to sneak into his bunk every night.”

“We missed you.”

Both half grinned at the opportunity for a vulgar retort, and both hearts broke when there wasn’t the energy to make it.

Daisy sighed and walked towards the bed, sitting beside Jemma at the foot and resting her head on her friend’s shoulder.  “I’m so tired.”

With those three little words, the world came crashing down and Daisy began choking out sobs so violent that they didn’t make a sound.  Jemma wrapped her arms tightly around her, rubbing her back and holding her close and making it clear that she would refuse to ever let go.

Somehow, sitting there together at the edge of the bed, holding each other through their tears, and knowing Fitz slept just on the other side of the wall, it felt as though the world was slowly piecing itself back together.

Eventually, Daisy’s sobs calmed, but Jemma’s embrace remained just as strong.  But rather than run, Daisy let it consume her.  For the first time, it didn’t matter whether or not she deserved love or affection or kindness.  But she wanted it and, dammit, she would take it, even if only for a moment.

“I’m so tired, Jemma,” she whispered.

Jemma nodded and motioned for Daisy to lie down.  When she did, Jemma pulled the blankets around them both and grabbed Daisy’s hand and they laid there for a minute in silence, Daisy’s head falling against Jemma’s shoulder, as their breathing calmed.

“I’ll be right here when you wake up.  We’ll make Fitz make us breakfast.”

Daisy smiled and squeezed her hand.  “I bet you have a whole shelf filled with pancake mix.”

“A whole pantry, actually.”

“I’m not surprise.”  She let out a soft sigh.  “Goodnight, Jemma.”

“Goodnight, Daisy.”

Sometime later, or perhaps no time at all, the door creaked open and Jemma opened her eyes in the darkness, silently sputtering Daisy’s hair from her mouth as the other girl continued to sleep with heavy breath.  Fitz’s soft footsteps shuffled along the carpet and he bent to kiss Jemma’s cheek.

“We have a guest.”

He brushed Daisy’s hair from Jemma’s face.  “Good,” he said.  “Go back to sleep.”

He padded around the bed, slipping in on Daisy’s other side.  His arm draped lightly across Daisy’s middle, sandwiching her between them, with his fingers just grazing Jemma’s hip.  When his breathing slowed, Jemma felt her eyes again grow heavy and let herself fall back to sleep.

Neither Jemma nor Fitz woke in the morning to make pancakes.  When May returned just before eight, to give more of an explanation and, perhaps, to make sure Daisy hadn’t vanish again into the night, she allowed herself just one minute of watching the three of them curled up together in a deep, blissful sleep that none had perhaps had since before they had each other.  And then, without a word or a note, she left.  Because whatever plans they had, that SHIELD had, or that the rest of the world had, it could wait.

For now, she thought, it was best to let them sleep.


End file.
